With the formation of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin in 1968, a style of heavy rock emerged that was a clear synthesis of blues, rock, classical guitar, and jazz, although powered by driving high-powered amplification and effects.

One of the key figures to emerge in this field was Jimmy Page. Born in Heston, England, Page was performing and recording as a teenager in London in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He produced John Mayall's I'm Your Witchdoctor (1965), which featured Eric Clapton, and the next year he joined the Yardbirds. In mid-1968, when the quartet split over artistic differences, Page went on to form the New Yardbirds, a hard-rock group that fulfilled the remaining contractual obligations of the Yardbirds.

The New Yardbirds quickly changed their name to Led Zeppelin and became arguably the most popular hard-rock group of the 1970s, selling tens of millions of albums worldwide. Because of the success of Led Zeppelin, Page became widely acknowledged as one of the most talented guitarists in rock music. In addition to his guitar work, Page also produced Led Zeppelin's albums, developing and shaping the band's sound.

The band broke up in the early 1980s, and several years later Page recorded with a new quartet called The Firm, which released two top-thirty albums in 1985 and 1986 before it disbanded. In 1988, Page released his solo debut, Outrider, on Geffen Records; the album featured appearances by former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and drummer Jason Bonham, the son of Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

During the 1990s, Page worked with former Whitesnake vocalist David Coverdale, and then reunited with Robert Plant for an MTV Unplugged special that showcased the pair performing old Led Zeppelin songs with a world music twist. Some of that material appeared on 1994's No Quarter, which was supported by a world tour.

In 1999, Page teamed with the Black Crowes for a concert in England that led to a U.S. tour, and an album called Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes Live at the Greek, which has exclusive online distribution through Music maker.org. Today, Page continues to record and perform.

Jimmy Page is alleged to own in excess of 1,500 guitars. Page himself gave this rough estimate to a BBC Radio interviewer in 2005. Page's primary guitar is a 1959 Gibson Les Paul that he acquired in 1969 from Joe Walsh.